Nuclear power: EU production on the rise, with France leading the way

Brussels – In 2024, European nuclear fission power plants generated 649,524 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity. This figure represents a 4.8 per cent increase compared to 2023, driven by higher production in France (+12.5 per cent), Sweden (+4.5 per cent), and Slovenia (+4.2 per cent). In total, this amount of energy accounted for 23.3 per cent of European energy production, despite being generated in only 12 of 27 countries.

In 2024, 12 EU countries with nuclear electricity production generated 649 524 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity.☢️⚡️

Largest nuclear producers in the EU:
France (380 451 GWh; 58.6% of the EU’s nuclear power)
Spain (54,510 GWh, 8.4%)

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— EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) 29 January 2026

However, the 2024 result should be interpreted with caution. Nuclear production in Europe has been declining since 2007. The 649,000 gigawatt hours in 2024 represent a much lower amount than the figures for the 1990s or early 2000s. Another era for nuclear energy, driven, among others, by German power stations, capable of producing around 150,000 gigawatt hours annually, which have been completely shut down in 2023. 

Nevertheless, a return to nuclear energy began to emerge from 2021 onwards. However, France was almost the only country to report a positive figure. In recent years, the French have been committed to restarting their numerous power stations at full capacity, without building any new ones. Other countries, on the other hand, have either reduced their production or stayed at roughly the same levels as previous years..

Compared to the entire Union’s production, the French managed to generate 58 per cent of all nuclear energy. This is a huge gap compared to other EU partners. The second largest producer was Spain, which covered only 8.4 per cent of the EU total, followed by Sweden with 5 per cent.

Returning to France, the statistics centre Eurostat has calculated that 67.3 per cent of all electricity produced beyond the Alps is nuclear. Only Slovakia has such high percentages. Given its small size, its five reactors have been able to produce 61 per cent of the electricity generated within its national borders.